December 9, 2009

Sozai

1221 High Street
Armadale, VIC 3143
(03) 9824 8200
Food: Japanese
Website: www.sozai.com.au
Date visited: 15th November 2009

After hearing rave reviews about Sozai, we gave it a go for dinner last week, following a window-shop down High Steet's vintage and boutique stores. Its promise of fresh seafood did not disappoint, with a Japanese chef deftly preparing sushi and sashimi to order. A huge chunk of the menu is dedicated to cold dishes from the sushi bar, with choices including seafood based salads and vinegared sushi rice combinations with raw salmon, tuna, sea urchin, oyster, salmon caviar, calamari, octopus, prawn and smoked eel.

The sashimi prepared was ultra fresh - vivid coloured and so smooth and moist

The restaurant's eccentric furnishings complete the oriental dining experience, with excellent table service, even on such a hectic night - people were waiting in line for a free table, customers were coming and going for their take away orders and the waiters appeared to be very frantic amongst each other!

Nama Kaki - I could have easily enjoyed another serve of these fresh oysters. The tangy, citrus flavours of the ponzu dressing tasted great with the added sprinkle of mild chilli powder and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Gyu Tataki - Sliced and perfectly seared Porterhouse beef with a complimenting ponzu dressing

Gyoza - Pan-fried home-made dumplings filled with pork and vegetables

Unagi Don - Sizzling, smoked eel on steamed rice

Sukiyaki - Thinly sliced Porterhouse beef with vegetables and udon noodles, cooked in a soy-based sweet sauce. The texture of the noodles was just how I prefer them - soft but still slightly chewy to the bite.

Wafu Salad - Beanshoots, beans and tofu with a light soy dressing

A refreshing salad to break up the sweet, salty flavours from our mains. I mixed some into my Sukiyaki!

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